Celebration of Sight

While back in Krissy's home state of Minnesota, we are celebrating snow in April (right?!?), she gets to celebrate something way more awesome on the good ship Mercy . . .

They call it the “Celebration of Sight”, otherwise known as one-day post-op appointments for our cataract patients.  Adult patients are only admitted for surgery with us if they have bilateral (both eyes) cataracts and we remove one of them.  They are outpatient procedures, the patients are gathered on the dock in the morning and discharged by that evening, to return to the clinic to have the bandages removed the next day.

Guinean people aren’t nearly as expressive as the previous people groups I’ve worked with in Africa. The first several men had their bandages removed and guarded their reactions carefully, expressing very little as they squinted and shifted and moved to be examined. Then, a dear little woman of probably fifty or so years was led to sit down and I could tell she was nervous and unsure.  We try to explain to them the process but you know that many of them never really understand… I wonder if she had any idea what was about to happen.  A glance at her admissions paperwork told me her vision before surgery was “hm” – hand motions only, unable to even tell you how many fingers you were holding up in front of her cloudy eyes.  As her bandage was removed, she hesitantly lifted her eyelids and allowed the eye team member clean her face. Once he stepped away, she looked directly at me, and I smiled a reassuring smile at her.  Mama, I said, You can see me. She clasped her hands in front of her mouth as though holding in all she wanted to express. The tears started flowing, her hands rose first to the heavens to thank God and then out to me to show her gratitude.  I never thought I would see again, she quietly explained. Never. Oh, thank you God.  My tears began flowing along with hers as I held her trembling hands in my own and smiled, no more words were necessary.